THE 90-DAY DTF INTEREST RATE:WHY DOES IT REMAIN CONSTANT?

Peter Rowland

No 3562, Borradores de Economia from Banco de la Republica

Abstract: The 90-day DTF rate is the main benchmark interest rate in Colombia. Since mid-July 2002 this rate has remained more or less constant at around 7.8 percent. More importantly, it did not react to any of two 100-basis-point increases in the overnight repo rate, the main tool of monetary policy that Banco de la Rep�blica has to influence domestic interest rates, which has rendered the repo rate rather inefficient as a monetary policy tool. This paper studies the DTF rate and its development over time. It shows that a significant pass-through from the overnight interest rates to the DTF rate that was present before July 2002 thereafter seems to have vanished. It also provides a number of explanations to why the DTF rate has remained constant: Overnight rates have in real terms been negative and might, therefore, have been more out of the market than the DTF rate; due to heavy government borrowing, the yield curve has been too steep to allow a further lowering of the DTF rate; competition in the financial system is low, leading to sticky interest rates; the DTF rate is not a free-market auction rate but an offer rate set by the banks; and the DTF rate is a very dominant benchmark.

Pages: 43
Date: 2006-02-01
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:col:000094:003562

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